Capt
Derek Argel, a Special
Tactics Officer assigned to the 23d Special
Tactics Squadron, Hurlburt
Field, Florida, perished on 30 May 2005 in the crash of an Iraqi Air
Force SL7 reconnaissance/transport plane. Captain Argel was
participating in an operational mission in support of Operation Iraqi
Freedom when the aircraft crashed in the Divala Province of Iraq about
80 miles northeast of Baghdad.

Captain Argel was born in Lompoc, California and attended Carrillo High
School where he played water polo and was named 1994 league MVP. He
continued his water polo career at the United States Air Force Academy.
Upon graduation in 2001, he entered into the Combat Control training
pipeline, earning the red beret of a Special Tactics Officer in 2003.

Following his graduation from Class 06 of the Advanced Skills Training
course at Hurlburt Field, Captain Argel was assigned to the 23d Special
Tactics Squadron, making his first operational deployment to
Afghanistan and Iraq.

Captain Argel’s awards include the Bronze Star with Valor
Device, the Air Force Achievement Medal, The National Defense Service
Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Medal.

He is survived by his wife Wendy and son Logan.

CITATION
TO ACCOMPANY THE AWARD OF
THE BRONZE STAR MEDAL
(WITH VALOR)
TO

CAPTAIN DEREK M. ARGEL

Captain Derek
M. Argel
distinguished himself by heroism as a Special Tactics Officer, 23rd
Special Tactics Squadron, 720th Special Tactics Group, Headquarters Air
Force Special Operations Command, while engaged in ground combat
against an enemy of the United States from 18 February 2005 to 30 May
2005. During this period, Captain Argel served in multiple roles as
Director of Operations, Joint Terminal Attack Controller and landing
zone assessment team leader supporting taskings across three separate
continents within United States Central Command. Captain Argel was
selected as a primary Joint Terminal Attack Controller for multiple
distinguished visitors, to include the First Lady of the United States,
the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan, and Special Envoy to the
President of the United States. His swift decision-making while
continually exposed to Al Qaeda and Taliban attacks during movements
through hostile territory, guaranteed the safety and security of the
distinguished visitors as well as preserved the stability of
Afghanistan. His efforts culminated in personal recognition from
Ambassador Khalilzad, highlighting the lasting impression expressed by
the Ambassador of the amazing capabilities that special tactics
personnel bring to the ongoing fight in the Global War on Terror.
Furthermore, Captain Argel led a four-man special tactics team
executing a forward deployed aerial refueling and rearming point,
providing additional capabilities to coalition forces operating in
theater. As the sole air liaison supporting United States Marine
Corps’ Operation CELTIC, he facilitated aerial re-supply in
harsh
terrain during eight hours of armed escort with fixed-wing air assets
as well as numerous helicopter landing zone controls supporting air
assaults and medical evacuations. Captain Argel then led a five-man
team to conduct multiple landing zone survey operations supporting the
6th Expeditionary Special Operation Squadron’s re-supply of
the
10th Special Forces Group. It was during this Memorial Day mission on
30 May 2005 Captain Argel made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.
By his heroic actions and unselfish dedication to duty in the service
of his country, Captain Argel has reflected great credit upon himself
and the United States Air Force.

Former Air Force water polo player Capt. Derek Argel, 28, along
with three other U.S. Airmen and an Iraqi airman, was killed on May 30, when an
Iraqi air force Comp Air 7SL aircraft crashed in eastern Diyala province during
an operational mission. The crash happened near Jalula which is about 50 miles
northeast of Ba'qubah. The cause of the crash, which is being classified as
non-hostile, is currently under investigation.

Argel was stationed with the
23rd Special Tactics Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla., and was promoted to
captain just hours before his death. He leaves behind his wife, Wendy, and
10-month-old son, Logan.

Argel was a four-year letterwinner for the Air Force
water polo team from 1997-2000, earning all-conference honors as a senior. He
was also one of the inaugural members of the Falcon Club, which recognizes the
team's elite athletes. As a senior, he tried out for the boxing team, making it
all the way to the heavyweight finals in the annual Wing Open, before dropping a
split decision in the championship bout.

Argel graduated from Cabrillo High
School in Lompoc, Calif., in 1995, and attended both Northwestern Prep School
and the Academy Prep School before enrolling in the Air Force Academy in 1997.
He was recruited to the Academy by former Falcon head coach Jeff Heidmous, a
fellow Cabrillo alumnus.

"I'll remember Derek most for his undying spirit and
his endless sense of humor and contagious laugh, " said Heidmous. "His family,
friends, classmates, Falcon Polo brothers and the STO (Special Tactics
Operations) community are deeply saddened -- Derek was a great man, dedicated to
serving his nation at the very tip of the spear."

"My heart goes out to
Derek's immediate family, wife and son," said current Air Force head water polo
coach Jeff Ehrlich, who coached Argel in his final two seasons at the Academy.
"Derek has made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Derek loved what he was
doing and always gave 100% toward anything he ever did."

Perhaps best
illustrating the type of effort that Argel put forth on a consistent basis was a
feature in the February 2003 edition of Airman Magazine highlighting
the advanced skills training of Combat Controllers. Dubbed "Mr. Water Polo" by
his instructors, Argel toted a heavy tree stump throughout much of his special
operations training to provide a greater physical challenge.

"Derek was one
of my favorite players and was instrumental in recruiting me to coach at the Air
Force Academy," continued Ehrlich. "He also influenced my daughter, Cori, who
graduated in 2004 and is in pilot training at Eglin AFB, Fla., to attend the
Academy."

Ehrlich has announced plans for the Capt. Derek Argel Memorial
Award, which will be given annually at the team's awards banquet to the athlete
who demonstrates perseverance and an incredible work ethic, those attributes
which most exemplify the character of Argel.

"Memorial Day was a very sad day for Air Force Water
Polo and our United States Air Force Academy," said Ehrlich.

More
than
850 Americans have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since last
Memorial
Day. For many of their loved ones, the day's meaning has been
transformed. This
Memorial Day will feel like their first.

Memorial
Day
2005: America
is at the park, in the water, around the grill. At a walleye fishing
tournament
in Dubuque, Iowa, a lawn mower race in Hillsborough, N.J.,
a techno-music festival in Detroit.
Dania Jai-Alai near Miami
offers free U.S.
flag magnets, while supplies last.

There
are
countless sack races, eating contests and tugs of war, endless sales on
everything from RVs to bikinis. All patriotic T-shirts are $5 at eight
Sears
stores in greater Phoenix,
while supplies last.

This
is how
most of us spend Memorial Day, an occasion for remembrance that
morphed,
through years of peace, into beer, ball, boats and barbecue.

But
three
years of war have revived the holiday's original meaning. Today, for
the
families of two young Air Force officers, the gateway to summer will
become a
portal to grief.

In
Iraq,
Derek Argel and Jeremy Fresques — both Air Force Academy
class of 2001, both
commandos, both promoted this day to captain — prepare to fly
off on a
classified mission.

In
Fort Walton Beach, Fla.,
Capt. Argel's wife, Wendy, sits down at the computer as their
10-month-old son,
Logan, plays on
the floor. She wants Derek to have an e-mail from her when he gets back.

The
television
shows scenes of parades and cemetery services. In the e-mail's subject
field,
she types, “Memorial Day.”

In
nearby Destin, Fla.,
Capt. Fresques' wife, Lindsey, also an Air Force captain, joins the
annual
“Gate to Gate” road race at Eglin Air Force Base.
She and other runners drop
carnations at the base Veterans Memorial as they jog past.

Right; Debbie Argel-Bastian and her son, Derek Argel

In
Yuma, Ariz.,
Fresques' father, Nick, has gotten a call from his wife, Sherry, asking
him to
come home early from work. After all, it's Memorial Day. In Santa
Barbara, Calif.,
Argel's mother, Debbie, enjoys a poolside martini in her
father-in-law's
backyard.

All
are
patriotic Americans who have relatives at war. Still, for them as for
almost
everyone else, Memorial Day is 90% recreation and 10% recollection.
Before the day
is over, that will change forever.

More
than a
dozen communities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, including
Waterloo, N.Y., (designated as such by Congress in 1966); Columbus,
Miss.
(recognized by the Library of Congress in 1958); and Boalsburg, Pa.,
where in
1864 three women started a tradition of decorating Civil War soldiers'
graves
with flowers.

On
May 30, 1868, Union
veterans first officially observed Decoration Day. Over the next
century, a
succession of wars swelled the importance of what became known as
Memorial Day.

In
1971,
Congress divorced Memorial Day from May 30, making it the last Monday
in May.
By 2000, the day's original meaning had become so subsumed in the
festive
three-day weekend that Congress passed the national Moment of
Remembrance Act,
asking for a moment of silence at 3 p.m.

Pictured; Derek observes a moment of silence with his son, Logan

Years
of
peace also took their toll. For many, Memorial Day was old men walking
around
in funny hats and outfits wearing obscure ribbons and medals
— forgotten heroes
of forgotten wars.

In
Farmington, N.M.,
where Jeremy Fresques grew up, his mother mostly recalls the kids'
baseball
games and soccer tournaments. His father sums it up:
“Memorial Day was a
picnic.”

In
Lompoc, Calif.,
where Derek Argel grew up near Vandenberg Air Force Base, Memorial Day
was
different. The main street was lined with flags. Hundreds of people
gathered at
the cemetery. A clergyman read the names of the war dead, Scouts placed
a flag
on every veteran's grave and a bugler played taps.

Derek's
grandfather was a career Marine who fought in World War II.

In
the sixth
grade, Derek wrote that on Memorial Day, “We should put the
flag out at our
homes, and go to the service at the cemetery. On this day we show
respect to
the veterans who risked their lives or were killed protecting our
freedom and
flag. I am happy to see them put a little flag on my grandfather's
grave.”

In
Iraq on
Memorial Day 2005, Fresques, 26, and Argel, 28, have made captain.
However,
there's no time for a promotion ceremony. Because they're on a mission,
they're
not even wearing their new silver bars. A promotion “would
have been the last
thing on their minds,” says Col. Kenneth Rodriquez, their
group commander.
“These guys were very mission-focused.”

Only
a few
cadets from each Air Force Academy class are selected to wear the red
beret of the
Air Force's Special Tactics unit. They're called Combat Controllers, a
dry
term for shock troops trained to land in hostile territory, set up and
protect
landing fields, and direct aircraft into them.

Argel:
water polo star,
6-5, 210, 4% body fat. Wanted to go to the Air Force Academy so badly
he
attended two prep schools after high school to get in. On a whim,
entered
academy boxing tournament, having never boxed before, and made the
finals,
losing a split decision. Set so many records in commando training he
had to lug
a hunk of driftwood as handicap.

Fresques:
hard worker, deep
thinker. Considered military academies because he didn't want to get a
loan to
attend University of Arizona. Joked that he
chose Colorado Springs
over West Point because female cadets were
better looking; said the Air Force treated officers better. Found Jesus
in his
senior year at the academy. Upon seeing copy of Maxim, the men's
magazine, on
the desk of a superior officer, he said, “Sir, you aren't
going to read that,
are you?” Disqualified by eyesight for flight school, he
became a
communications officer. Applied for elite special ops unit after
deciding that
he'd “go crazy sitting at a desk.”

Argel,
a
rising star in Special Tactics, has decided to make a career of it.
Fresques plans to leave the Air Force in 2006 and possibly go into real
estate.
Both will finish their tour in a month and go home.

“I'm
definitely ready,” Fresques e-mails his parents on May 26.
Three days later he
writes in his journal that he's not afraid of dying, only
“the process of
dying.” He says his fondest desire is to be
“raptured with Lindsey” into heaven
to be with Jesus.

In
the early
afternoon, a holiday rooted in wars past is transformed by news from
war today:

Four
U.S. airmen and
an Iraqi Air Force pilot were killed when their light plane crashed and
exploded into flames 80 miles northeast of Baghdad. The plane went down
about an hour
after takeoff from Kirkuk.
The cause of the crash was under investigation.

Wendy
Argel
is on an errand when she gets a call from her mother at home with
little Logan. There are soldiers
there to see her.

Wendy's
father was an Air Force pilot. She knows what that means.

While
she
was writing that e-mail, her husband was dead.

A
few miles
away, Lindsey Fresques is bustling around her town house getting ready
for a
barbecue when there's a knock on the door. Four soldiers are standing
there.

One
is a
major who attended her wedding, and the look on his face says this will
be the
worst day of her life. The carnation she'd dropped at the memorial had
been for
her own husband.

The
young
widows spread the sad news. Wendy reaches her mother-in-law in Santa
Barbara. Debbie sinks to her knees. Her
husband thinks she's having a stroke.

In
Iraq, where an
investigation will later rule out hostile fire and mechanical failure,
only a
few personal items are recovered from the wreckage. They include a
silver cross
Jeremy had bought in Jerusalem
and wore around his neck, and Derek's gold wedding ring.

Some
of the
human remains are burned too badly for identification. Later, these
intermingled ashes will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
The pilot will become the first Iraqi interred there.

Four
days
after the crash, a ceremony is held in a hangar at Hurlburt Field in
Florida, where the four
airmen were based. Each is awarded the Bronze Star. Each soldier is
represented
by combat boots, a rifle, a helmet and, of course, a red beret.

This
year,
for the friends and relatives of Jeremy and Derek, Memorial Day will be
no
picnic.

Nick
Fresques: “It always meant something to me, but it wasn't a
real important day.
I didn't know anyone real close that even served in a war. Now that my
son …
Now it's completely different. Until something like this happens,
unfortunately,
it's hard to realize the true meaning of Memorial Day.”

Sherry
Fresques: “It's a new experience for me, picking out what to
put on your son's
grave. I've selected two white roses, symbolizing purity, as well as a
spray of
red, white and blue stars that kind of reminds me of fireworks
— Jeremy loved
fireworks. And I'll probably put up this little flagpole. The flag's
one of
those sparkly ones.”

Wendy
Argel:
“Memorial Day is a big deal down here, but I know in some
other places it's
not. But we're living in wartime. I hope people remember that. It's not
just
numbers. One of those numbers happens to be my husband.”

Lindsey
Fresques: “It reminds you that there really are people who
make sacrifices.
Jeremy and I used to think, ‘You go in and do your time, and
then you get out.'
So what happened makes the meaning and honor of military service a lot
more
real.”

Debbie
Argel
Bastian: “Memorial Day will always be difficult for me now,
but it will also
have so much more honor attached to it.”

For
tough
guys, Derek and Jeremy were never very aggressive around women.

Wendy
basically picked up Derek, making eyes at him in a bar on St. Patrick's
Day.
Lindsey and Jeremy met when she was his superior officer and instructor
in air
traffic training school. Taking a cue from Top Gun, she passed him a
note
inviting him to dinner.

Now
there's
an overwhelming sense of what might have been. Derek was away for about
half of
his two-year marriage. Jeremy was overseas on his only wedding
anniversary.
Wendy wears Derek's ring around her neck. Lindsey wears Jeremy's cross
around
hers.

Last
month,
Wendy and Lindsey went sky diving, each for the first time, doing
something
their guys enjoyed doing.

On
Memorial
Day, they'll be at Walt Disney World, where Wendy's looking forward to
the roller
coasters. “It's the adrenaline,” she says.
“You can't help but smile.”

Disney
—
“the happiest place on earth,” Lindsey says,
reciting Walt's famous claim. But
there's a touch of irony in her voice, suggesting that there are days
when
there are no happy places on earth, and that this Memorial Day could be
one of
them.

"He
was just a soldier by every means of the imagination. He felt like God intended
him to contribute this way. He just truly believed in it with his core, and
wanted to contribute." —
Wendy Argel, widow

"Letters
for Logan" is the heartfelt story of a mother's timeless love for her
son, and the legacy she is compelled to leave her grandson. Air Force
Capt. Derek Argel, 28, was larger-than-life--athletic, loving,
dedicated, loyal and above all, a son to Debbie, husband to Wendy and
father to Logan. Within days of his tragic death in the line of duty on
Memorial Day of 2005 in Iraq, the first letter to Logan arrived. Then
another came, and they kept coming, from friends, colleagues, warriors
and family. They still arrive, even years after the Combat Controller's
death, each one weaving an enduring portrait for a little boy of his
fallen father, gone too soon. Proceeds from this book will go to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation,
rated as a four-star charity by Charity Navigator. The foundation
provides full scholarship grants, educational and family counseling to
the surviving children of special operations personnel who die in
operational or training missions, and immediate financial assistance to
severely wounded special operations personnel and their families. The
family of Capt. Derek Argel believes wholeheartedly in the mission of
the foundation. "First there, That Others may Live"

Derek
Argel was more at home in the water than out of it. The native of
Lompoc, Calif., competed on the city's swim team, worked as a lifeguard
and was a star player on the Cabrillo High School water polo team until
his graduation in 1995.

Argel was named most valuable
player in his high school water polo league, and played the sport at
the Academy, where he graduated in 2000.

“He worked exceptionally
hard. He never took anything for granted,” Cabrillo High School
athletic director Bob Lawrence said.

He said the 6-foot-6 Argel
towered over him. “He always leaned over and hugged me. He
doesn’t ever leave without saying he loves me.”

Argel, who graduated from the
school in 1995, brought his wife and young son with him when he last
returned to Lompoc to attend the high school’s annual alumni game
in October. He gave his old teachers photos of him in uniform.

“His life was always secondary to the United States of America,” friend David Riley said.Contact Deb at argeldebra@hotmail.com for information and to donate, mail check to 121 N. W St., Lompac, CA. 93436